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Border Towns: an Overview

Border Towns: an Overview. Presented at the ZIRUP Annual School 2013: Beitbridge Percy Toriro ptoriro@yahoo.co.uk. Definition. A border town is a town or city close to the boundary between two countries, states or regions.

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Border Towns: an Overview

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  1. Border Towns: an Overview Presented at the ZIRUP Annual School 2013: Beitbridge Percy Toriro ptoriro@yahoo.co.uk

  2. Definition • A border town is a town or city close to the boundary between two countries, states or regions. • Usually the term implies that it is one of the things the town is most famous for. • Border towns can have highly cosmopolitan communities, a feature they share with port cities. • They can also be flashpoints for international conflict • (Wikipedia)

  3. Zimbabwe border towns...

  4. Federalism and Borders • Where there is a federal system of governance, there can be borders between states inside a country • This is not common in Southern Africa (Nigeria) • USA is a good example

  5. Characteristics of Border Towns.. • There is a dominance of businesses and industries that support the following: • Warehousing • Immigration • Trade in foreign/imported goods • Freight • Clearing agencies • Many transit vehicles (parking and movement) • The town can also assume the character of the neighbouring country

  6. A character of the neighbour...

  7. Services beyond its requirements

  8. South African Border with Lesotho

  9. Bostwana/SA Border

  10. Culture • Very cosmopolitan • Demonstrates the extent of the hinterland • Footprint very diverse

  11. Borders, Towns, Complexity, & Conflict

  12. Special Challenges of Border Towns • Crime • Infrastructure & Services • Planning and providing for local, regional, national, and international clientelle • Beitbridge population approx 45000 res • Mismatch between expectations and capacity • Cohesion between local and international agencies

  13. Meeting the challenges of border towns • Joint planning..Vic Falls-Livingstone coordination on environmental issues to safeguard World Heritage status • Beira Corridor Group in the 80s and early 90s • SA Mpumalanga-Maputo corridor • Limpopo Spatial Development Initiative?

  14. Examples of Transborder Initiatives..

  15. Border towns by the sea • Borders can differ • Sea ports (Cape Town, Walvis Bay, Maputo, Durban) • Airports (International: Joburg, Harare, Nairobi) • These have completely different planning and governance challenges

  16. Border Town or Town near a border?? • There is a difference between a town near a border and a typical border town • Vic Falls • Nyamapanda • Plumtree • Beitbridge (Africa’s busiest road border) • The differences mean the focus, pressures, and requirements also differ

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